Disabilities can be hard to properly represent on film. You either get a case of Rain Man, where it's so uplifting that it's a little unrealistic; or Me Before You, where it's so bleak and dour that it neglects the notion of a positive outlook. In the case of Breathe, you'll find a film whose tone leans a little more towards Rain Man, and in this case, that's not necessarily a bad thing.

The story begins in the late 1950s, and follows the true romance between former soldier, Robin (The Social Network and Hacksaw Ridge star Andrew Garfield), and his wife, Diana Cavendish (Claire Foy). When Robin is diagnosed with polio, Diana is steadfast and determined to do everything she can to love him and make their lives as normal as possible.

Garfield is an actor who has generally impressed me, even when his films have not. He's never given an overly dramatic performance, but rather relies on subtle and subdued emotional conveyance. Aside from the first act of the film, wherein he sports a distractingly fake British accent, this is another performance that delivers on emotion. His most powerful moments are found lying in a hospital bed, unable to speak, and simply acting through his facial expressions. It's a rare and minimalist style of acting reminiscent of the golden age of silent cinema, and one that always scores points from me.

Even more impressive is Foy, whose iron will to love no matter what is the element that carries the entire movie. She's unbreaking in her determination, and every time a new obstacle presents itself, she shows worry like a normal person would, but she doesn't crack under pressure. I think when most people watch movies, they see in a protagonist what they want to see in themselves, and Claire Foy's interpretation of Diana Cavendish is the idealizatoin of that concept.

Visaully, the film is impressive, but it has its ups and downs. The production design (costumes, cars, home decor) is strikingly accurate to the time period and wonderfully captured. But in terms of lighting, it's a little on and off; light is used as a tool to reflect the emotional state of the two lovers, which is very poignant and creative. Whenever they're in an overwhelmingly light or dark place, the audience is literally in that place with them. But when their journey has so many emotional ups and downs (which is only naturally to be expected), to see the frames cut between starkly contratsing light and dark can be a little jarring.

The script is another facet that is good, but easily could have been great. The formation of the Cavendishes' relationship is extremely rushed, but after the initiating action that activates the conflict, the pacing mellows out to a more progressive rate. On the one hand, it covers a lot of ground without dragging its feet, but sometimes it can feel as though it's moving a little too fast without too many slowdown moments that allow you to take in the atmosphere.

In terms of writing, there's also the matter of tone, and representation of true events. The film has a very uplifting tone, but there are definitely moments where optimism can outweigh realism. I found myself thinking, "there's no way it really happened like that." But surprisingly, I wasn't too bothered by it, because of the film's message: with a lot of work and patience, love can achieve greater things than we think are possible, even in the most dire of circumstances. It's cheesy for sure, but I'd be lying if I said it wasn't satisfying by my standards. But for those seeking a more challenging cinematic experience emotionally (like say Dancer in the Dark or Grave of the Fireflies, a beautiful film that's anything but hopeful), or just something with more realism and authenticity, you might be disappointed.

Overall, Breathe is a movie that is definitely not without its problems, but the things that are done well are so good that they tend to overshadow the negatives. This is the first film directed by Andy Serkis, who is one of the most prolific actors of the modern era, and for a debut feature, it's better than expected. I genuinely look forward to seeing his craft behind the camera develop over time, and this is a solid starting point. It's well-acted, beautifully though not always evenly shot, and touching in a way that knows it's a little sappy and just embraces it. Keeping those things in mind, there's a lot to get out of Breathe. I'm giving it three out of four stars.